Forward

My friend sent me this forward the other day and I thought it was hilarious, so I thought I'd share...enjoy :) :


Random Thoughts.

Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f *** was going on when I
first saw it.

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This
recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never
be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.(guilty)

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.
Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired
about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.”
Classy, bro.

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and
said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to
be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an
overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if
I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every
year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be
a problem….

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t
want to have to restart my collection.

There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

“Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China
and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that
when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing
anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she
hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.


It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to
with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time…

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think
about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people
eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by
myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard
before dinner.

rant

I'm a pretty patient person. One thing I just have NO patience for,however, is stupid people. I'm not talking about the person who never gets any questions right on Jeopardy stupid. I'm talking about the people who could potentially be smart,they just choose to not apply common sense to their life so,therefore,make stupid decisions. I know I'm not THE brightest crayon in the box..but at least I TRY. These people,for whatever reason,gave up a looooong time ago.

My rant begins earlier this week. We have a group of preschoolers that are moving up to PreK in 2 weeks. Each preschooler has their own individual portfolio that I literally spend hours on. It's quite extensive. I've been trying to complete one a week. Our bookshelf is where I have been doing a lot of my work recently.

Fast forward to today. Thursdays are always my planning days. I work on my lesson plan and any other work I need to get done. Today especially I wanted to finish my lesson plan early so I could finish the portfolio I am working on this week. I race through my plan,with plenty of time leftover. SO excited. I go to get the portfolio....and it's GONE. Not only is the portfolio gone,but the folder that had all the child's artwork in it is missing as well. I know there's no way I could have misplaced it,since I never move it,but I look around anyway.

Then,it dawns on me. It was taken home by the child's mother.

I understand that people make mistakes, and if it had been any other parent I would have just let it slide...but let me tell you about this particular mom...

This child's mom is one of the previously mentioned stupid people. I don't know if she is just pretending because she thinks it's cute or what,but it's not. It's irritating. Who does that? Just takes stuff from your kids classroom? Now I'm pissed because her dumbassness has caused me to be behind on my portfolios so I will most likely have to take it home over the weekend to finish,which I don't get paid for,which I was desperately trying to avoid. Pretty sure we've never just left stuff lying around for you to take. Pretty sure when we want you to take something home we put it in your parent folder or your kids cubby. I guess now I'm gonna have to go around my class labeling everything with "PLEASE DO NOT TAKE". This is the same mom who made us stall her kids birthday party for a half hour cause she was running late. I figured she was leaving from work or something. Nope,she was shopping at the mall. Her priorities are clearly in check. This is also the same lady who brings her kid to school sick,informs my co-teacher the kid is sick,only to have to pick him up an hour later cause,well,your kid is sick!

I'm thanking sweet baby jesus her child is moving to PreK in 6 days not because I don't like the kid,I ADORE the kid,it's the mom I can't handle.

Ugh.

End rant.

11 years and running...

Tonight I had the opportunity to have dinner with my oldest friend Megan. I haven't seen Megan since November of last year and since then she's had a baby so I was super excited to finally meet the little one! When I called Megs before coming over I asked what she was making me for dinner. She said "mac and cheese" to which I replied "That's my faaaavorite!!" I was totally expecting Kraft boxed mac and cheese, you know, the one everyone is raised on,and the only kind I've ever put in my mouth. Little did i know people actually made HOMEMADE mac and cheese that you put in an oven and BAKE!! Oh it was sooooo yummy and if i don't go to bed asap i'm pretty sure i'm gonna dive into the leftovers Megan FORCED me to take home :) So after meeting CJ the baby, and learning I was getting homemade mac and cheese...my night got BETTER. How is that even POSSIBLE??? you ask...well,let me tell you! While cooking dinner Megan informed me she had an espresso machine and asked "would you like some coffee?" Um,what??? That's like asking Richard Simmons if he wanted a new sparkly tank top! So she proceeded to make me an iced venti vanilla latte. Pure. Bliss. I then informed Megan I would be by her house at 7 am every morning for my free latte. After having a nice chat during dinner we decided it had been WAY too long since our last photo together. I think we came to the conclusion that it had been about 3 years. Ridiculous. When James, Megans husband came home we took FULL advantage and made him snap some current photos of us. Here are a couple of the results:

hells yeah we're completely normal:



I love this picture cause it captures us exactly. Always laughing,always fun. Thanks Megan for the delicious dinner I had a blast, we are SO doing this again REALLY soon. Love you! <3

just can't get enough

in case you haven't noticed, i like posting pictures. i feel that sometimes words alone would fail to describe how spectacular something is. i was looking at the pictures i have captured on my telephono,and thought i would share them with you...as well as an amazing video!!!


first up, is exactly one scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream. now,those of you that "know" me,know that i am not a huge fan of ice cream, or cold food in general. so it is very rare that i actually get a craving for some. for the past couple days i've been craving BAD. i don't want just any ole ice cream though. noooo way. i want my favorite. mint chocolate chip. deeelish. i informed my co teacher of this and she surprised me by picking me up some during lunch today!! i'm such a lucky girl. so,pictured,is probably the (free!)one scoop of ice cream i will eat this year:



it's no secret,and i've mentioned on here numerous times, that i looooove my nephew and think he's the cutest little boy in the whole galaxy. so,of course there's no way i could do a picture blog without including his adorableness!! This is him when he just learned how to stand up by himself for the very first time!!(LOVE that smile!)



and Connor in his favorite swimming pool...so hard to believe he's almost a year old! When's he gonna grow some hair????



On Sunday i went to my parents house and had breakfast for the first time in ages. one of my favorite childhood memories is eating breakfast at the table with my family. My favorite was when my dad would make it for dinner. I'm positive that to this day,that is why i love breakfast so much. Anyway,they have a mini dachshund named Kobe who is as funny as he is cute. You will see that later on in this blog!



When it's super nice outside I LOVE to grab a latte and a good book and head towards the Tacoma Waterfront. There could be gagillions of people there but I always manage to find the perfect little spot to just sit and relax for a while. Last time i was there pirates had invaded it! There were two ships that I tried to take a picture of (phone has no zoom,but i did my best!). It was pretty cool. They were shooting cannons at each other and I could even hear them yelling pirate obscenities across the water. definitely a top 5 memorable waterfront experience(i'm not sure why it's not showing up as big as it is in photobucket,but just click on it and you can see both ships!):



last picture i dug up is a group of my kids. this is on our playground at school. it was such a fun photo opportunity there was no way i could pass it up! I love how each kids face shows their personality exactly:



and finally....the video you all have been waiting for! But first, a little background story:

A few years ago my mom started to collect those singing snowmen from Hallmark. Basically,you push a button and it sings whatever jolly tune is in it's music box that year. There is one in particular, the Jingle Bells snowman,that my parents dog Kobe LOVES. he actually sings along to it! he used to just howl at the end when the singing dog howled, but now,if you listen closely, you can hear him singing a few select parts. This Hallmark snowman is now a year round permanent fixture on my parents coffee table. Keep in mind, this is not his very best work,but it's still awesome,and you'll get the idea. I present to you...singing Kobe:

against all odds

I felt it
The wire touch my neck and
Then someone pulled it tighter
I never saw it coming
I started to black out and
Then someone said good morning
I took it as a warning
I should have seen it coming

So now I take a chance on
This thing we may have started
Intentional or not I
Don't think we saw it coming
It's all adding up to something
That asks for some involvement
That asks for a commitment
I think I see it coming if we step out on that limb

My heartbeat beats me senselessly
Why's everything gotta be so intense with me?
I'm trying to handle all this unpredictability
And our probability

It's a long shot but I say why not?
If I say forget it I know that I'll regret it
It's a long shot just to beat these odds
The chance is we won't make it but I know if I don't take it there's no
chance
Cause you're the best I've got

So take a long shot

I realize that there is all this doubting
And we're both scared about that
We'll never see em coming
Throw caution to the wind and
We'll see which way it's blowing
And to this fully knowing
We'll never see it coming
Til it's much too close to stop

My heartbeat beats me senselessly
Why's everything gotta be so intense with me?
I'm trying to handle all this unpredictability
And our probability

It's a long shot but I say why not?
If I say forget it I know that I'll regret it
It's a long shot just to beat these odds
The chance is we won't make it but I know if I don't take it there's no
chance
Cause you're the best I've got

So take a long shot

Oh I waited for fact to come of fiction
And you fit my description
I never saw you coming but we'll make it

It's a long shot but I say why not?
If I say forget it I know that I'll regret it
It's a long shot just to beat these odds
The chance is we won't make it but I know if I don't take it there's no
chance

No chance
Cause you're the best I got

So take a long shot

You didn't expect this
Oh you never saw me coming

make new friends but keep the old

Apparently this:



and this:



are new permanent fixtures in my house. There's not even a good story as to why they are there. They just,are. Cool.



A feeling of nostalgia has come over me. Not really reminiscing about the past,but more appreciating things from my past that i still currently have. Specifically,my friends. Soooo many people come and go out of your life. This applies to everyone. There are some you think will be there forever who are gone in a flash,and those who you may only consider acquaintances who are there for you 20 years down the road. I can't even put into words how it boggles my mind when i think about when and where certain people have been placed in my life, and where we are today.

My 2 oldest friends are Megan and Dusty. We've all known each other for about ten years now. Me and Megan were in the super cool high school youth group at church and Dusty was a measly jr.higher. What's bizarre to me is how I am still friends with these girls after all this time. There are girls that I was MUCH better friends with at the time that I haven't talked to or seen in probably 8 years. How these girls remained in my life I have NO clue,but am forever grateful. So,to those 2 girls, i say Thank You! for being such amazing,constant friends these past 10 years!

Dusty <3



Megs <3

(there are no pictures either current or past that i can find of me and megan,but we will be seeing each other shortly and believe me,the current picture situation WILL change)


Now,let me tell you about Amanda Blair aka Bee Elle. I've known her for about 3.5 years now and have no problem calling her one of my best friends. We met when we were both devoted Targeteers. She is super smart and can always find humor in any situation. When I am feeling like crap and need someone to make me smile(which is usually my job,to make other people smile) she's my go-to girl. When my best friend of 7.5 years decided to bail out on me,forever,she was there. When I got fired from Hallmark,she was the first person I called,in tears(even though I hated that effing job). Break-ups,make-ups, and everything in between,she's SO there. When I need a buddy to ride the rides with me at the Puyallup Fair,she is there. We always have so much fun together,no matter what. I love everything about this girl,we have so much in common,and basically EVERYthing we do together is an adventure. One of our favorite things is to go to Forza coffee shop in Puyallup,drink peppermint mochas in "for here" cups and play Phase 10 while making fun of the high school kids that come in with their new latest "trends". Another thing we do is the Puyallup Fair. This event could happen once,twice,maybe even 3 times in a year. And each time we find something new we'd never seen/done before. There's a pizza place in Olympia called Old School that we would not hesitate to drop everything one Sunday afternoon to drive a half hour,just for one slice of their amazing pizza. This also applies to unlimited soup,salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. Rihanna's "Umbrella" is our anthem. We both know most of the words to many Spice Girls songs. Literally EVERY time we do something together people ask us if we're sisters which is funny because me and my ACTUAL sister look nothing alike.I could go on and on and ooooon about this amazing friend of mine, but I'm pretty sure most of the funny stuff I could mention is only funny to us. So I will spare you the details. bee elle, I heart your gusts and thank you for everything! Here is a little photo tribute to the adventures of 2/3rds of the A-Team:


we never miss a photo op:




I'm in an amanda sandwich! (amanda "tut",me,amanda "bee elle")



on one of our random trips to Old School Pizzaria



Doing the Puyallup (and doing it well)



we like telling secrets


it snows INSIDE one of the shopping centers in Seattle!



you can stand under my umbrella




If you are not listed in this blog,it's not that I don't love you or consider you a dear friend, or that you mean less to me than these people, I could spend years writing about all the amazing people in my life. However,it is currently midnight and I have to work early in the morning. But keep on reading,you never know,maybe in the future one of my blogs could be about you. :)

anniversary

Next month marks my one year anniversary working at BFC. I've said this before,but it's so surreal that I still love my job! Granted,it's "only" been on year,but that's a lot longer than I've liked any other job! I was given a questionnaire to fill out for our "anniversary board" and I thought I'd share my answers with you. I did my best to make it different cause,let's face it,who wants to read the same boring answers all the time? Not me. Good thing I'm not boring.

Name: Andi Ottoson
Anniversary date: 9/29 (super easy for me to remember...my nephew was born on my first day of work!)
Position:preschool lead

Any awards or certificates you have received or been nominated for at the center: "Most Improved Classroom"(sooooo proud of this one!),"Ms. Tell It Like It Is"(a little less proud of this one but let's face it,it's true,ha)

Schools you've attended and degrees/certificates you've received: Central Washington University double major in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education-3.5 years completed

Three things you do for fun in your spare time:
1.Go to the Tacoma waterfront and drink a latte while reading a good book.
2.Shopping at Target and challenging myself to only buy what I came for.
3.Going to shows and singing along loudly to my favorite songs.

What are some things you do with friends and family: watching free movies that are On Demand, making up recipes with whatever we find in our cupboards then eating the whole thing,changing the lyrics to popular songs so they're funnier.

What's your favorite memory while working at BFC: winter when we had all the snow-it was nice to have snow days and watch kids play in snow because some hadn't seen it before.

What is one goal you have for next year: start/complete my CDA

Why do you enjoy working with children: you always have a story to share and they say the funniest things that make me laugh. Also,they give the best hugs.(no offense to those of you that i've hugged,i'm sure yours are perfectly acceptable as well :) )

these are a few of my favorite things

(and of course, you know i had to throw in a few pictures of my most favorite little guy)

he's about 20 percent gangster,which he gets from me,obviously:


chillin with the homies:


i will never get tired of looking at those big brown eyes: